Movie Monday ~ Don’t Let the Love of Classic B&W Films Die! – Part Two

In 2019 we are looking to the future, and the horizon is bright! One of the wonders of our world is the ability to enjoy the old with the new and share it with future generations. 

This holiday break I was able to share several B&W films with my 25 year old son. This is a yearly tradition in our household.  Not just B&W films, but the classics. I have four children, their ages are spread out (14 to 25) so I only subject them to a few at a time so it isn’t torturous. Surprisingly, while they object at first, they usually get into the movie after the first 30 minutes or so. Some of you may have noticed from my tweets (@AmyJRomine), this year I shared Abbott and Costello with the two younger kids and the Thin Man series with the eldest. 

Liking the idea of revisiting the classics? Check out part one of this post. Here are the last five in a list of 10 B&W films I highly suggest for 2019. Most can be found on Amazon or TCM. These are in no particular order as I love them all. 

Bringing Up Baby – (Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn) - While trying to secure a

$1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby. Both a very young Grant and Hepburn captivate with sharp banter and physical comedy rarely replicated in today’s films.

Casablanca – (Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman) - In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications. We all know this classic love story and B&W is the best version.

The Maltese Falcon (Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor) - A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette. This signature classic changed the face of noir films for the ages. Do not miss this classic suspense thriller! By the way, did you know the 1941 Maltese Falcon is a remake of a movie from 1931 starring Bebe Daniels and Ricardo Cortez and was originally penned by Dashiell Hammett who also created The Thin Man.

The Little Princess – (Shirley Temple, Richard Greene, Anita Louise) A little girl The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer, but I have to admit the scene where the Temple  finds her father is tear-jerking and too perfect to resist!

is left by her father in an exclusive seminary for girls, due to her father having to go to Africa with the army. Needless to say you had to expect at least one Shirley Temple film on the list. I was torn between this and

Arsenic and Old Lace – (Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane) - A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family. Hollywood has attempted to remake this classic four times without success.  Frantic, funny and full of delightful physical comedy this once stage play turned movie is one not to be missed!

 So those are the final five of ten. You can see the fist list here. All can be found on Amazon and are shown regularly on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Also IMDB (the links are used in this blog) usually has a list of places you can purchase and or rent movies. I would love to hear your feedback, suggestions you have for the list!

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Movie Monday ~ Don’t Let the Love of Classic B&W Films Die! – Part One

In 2019 we are looking to the future, and the horizon is bright! One of the wonders of our world is the ability to enjoy the old with the new and share it with future generations. 

This holiday break I was able to share several B&W films with my 25 year old son. This is a yearly tradition in our household.  Not just B&W films, but the classics. I have four children, their ages are spread out (14 to 25) so I only subject them to a few at a time so it isn’t torturous. Surprisingly, while they object at first, they usually get into the movie after the first 30 minutes or so. Some of you may have noticed from my tweets (@AmyJRomine), this year I shared Abbott and Costello with the two younger kids and the Thin Man series with the eldest. 

Liking the idea of revisiting the classics? Here are the first five in a list of 10 B&W films I highly suggest for 2019. Most can be found on Amazon or TCM (Turner Classic Movies). These are in no particular order as I love them all. 

The Philadelphia Story (1940) – (Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart) When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.  One of the first dramedys out there this light-hearted romantic film is witty and full of spunk!

The Thin Man Series – (William Powell and Myrna Loy) - Former detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it. This is the first of six films (Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home, and Song of the Thin Man), centering around Nick and Nora Charles. Snappy, fun and intelligent they were blockbusters back in the day and still hold up! 

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein  – (Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, and Glenn Strange) - Two hapless freight handlers find themselves encountering Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man. Just one of the many Abbott and Costello movies this is a family favorite. Having the original ‘monster’ actors interacting with the comedians was considered a huge risk at the time by Universal Studios, but ended up being such a hot they followed up with other mash-ups like Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – (Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur and Claude Rains) - A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down. A look at the inner working of politics from an optimistic point of view. I love how the arguments and dialog still ring true in today’s world.

These are the first five, and part one of my classic movie series. Almost can be found on Amazon and shown regularly on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Also IMDB (the links are used in this blog) usually has a list of places you can purchase and or rent movies. I would love to hear your feedback, suggestions you have for the list!

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Writing Warriors Wednesday ~Your Kernel Idea!

I lead a local Writing Group called the Writing Warriors. This is a wonderfully collaborative group of amazing people looking to connect with outer writers and hone their creative process.

In our first meeting, we discussed the foundation for any story, poem, a piece of art, music, blog post, new business, new invention – just about anything. The Kernel Idea!

This is the moment your creative brain latches on and the hamster wheel starts spinning. There is a rush of excitement and even giddiness at the endless possibilities. Many people take the idea and run with it rushing to find a piece of paper and start writing.

Here’s the challenge – 25,000 words later many people forget what it was that got them excited in the first place. They can no longer see the forest through the trees and the excitement fades away.  They have lost their kernel idea.

The word idea can mean lots of things to lots of people. For a writer, the idea is what the story is about. This is different than the Kernel Idea. The Kernel Idea can be anything, a quote, a smile, an interaction, a piece of dialog, a scene in a movie, the melody of a piece of music, a memory – you get the point.

When you look at your current WIP, ask yourself – What was my kernel idea? What was it that sparked my adrenaline-fueled decision that I could write 100,000 words about this?

For me, the kernel idea for my current WIP Finders came from the movie The Conjuring. Specifically, the real-life love story of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the first publicized ghost hunters. That developed into the flurry of questions and thoughts about how would two people like this meet and go on to be the first well-known paranormal experts? This is where I started developing the story, based on my kernel idea.

This is the anchor for not my story but my inspiration. My jolt of magic that made me sit up and say – oh yeah that is good!

Once you have identified your Kernel Idea the next step is to take the story and filter it down to two sentences. Your logline. These two are directly connected as they keep you focused. Every scene, theme, action, and climax should reflect your logline and your original inspiration.

I am not saying this is going to be easy because it’s not. It is a challenge for any creative person, experienced or novice) to take all that story and swill it down, but well worth it! The development of the logline is essential to keeping your creative mind focused and centered.

A great resource for examples of amazing, and sometimes, not so amazing, loglines are movies! Except in movies, they are called taglines. You usually see them on the movie poster. During our group, we played a little game where I would read the logline of a well-known movie and the group would guess the movie. It was a great laugh and a great way to demonstrate the impact two or three sentences can have when summing up your work.

As an exercise, I challenge you to identify the kernel idea for your current project or recent publication and also attempted to write out the logline. Tweet me what you come up with @AmyJRomine or post it to the #WritersCommunity hashtag on Twitter.

Here is a couple a resource to get your brain working on your logline.

http://www.filmdaily.tv/log…/top-box-office-logline-examples

https://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/films/the-40-greatest-movie-taglines-ever/83728

Also, MUST recommend The Novel Writers Toolkit by the Astounding Bob Mayer who first introduced me to the Kernel Idea in his book 

I love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment and let me know what you think and if the post was helpful! If you want more information, or assistance shoot me an email at writesromine@gmail.com or ping me on Twitter @AmyJRomine.

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Movie Review – Pride, Prejudice and Zombies

Five sisters in 19th century England must cope with the pressures to marry while protecting themselves from a growing population of zombies.

Based on the Jane Austen masterpiece as retold by Seth Grahame-Smith , Pride, Prejudice and Zombies the movie boasts to be just like the classic Jane Austen tale, Pride and Prejudice, only with some brain eating zombies thrown into the mix. I found this intriguing and was actually interested in watching the film.

While Pride, Prejudice and Zombies bombed at the box office I none-the-less rented it as soon as it was released On-Demand.

Starring the lovely Lily James, who most recently appeared in the live action

version of Cinderella, and is well known for her role as Lady Rose MacClare on BBC’s Downton Abbey. James shed her blonde tresses and glass slippers for auburn locks and a carefully hidden dagger to portray Elizabeth Bennet.

Also starring Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy, who has a listing of credits but PPZ seems to be his first leading romantic role.

First let me just correct myself. Sorry, Sam, this may have been a leading role but it was certainly not romantic.

So let’s begin. I was disappointed in Pride, Prejudice and Zombies not because it took a beautiful classic tale and threw zombies in the mix, heck no, that’s what I was excited about! But because the results were gawd awful. I could redeem Pride, Prejudice and Zombies if it swayed in either direction but it did not. It was a horrid romance and a pansy horror.

The premise has such potential. The mix of the romance and the horror should have been more enticing. Alas anything salvageable was completely lost in the poorly choreographed fight scenes and dispassionate Victorian speeches.

I was hoping for at the very least a humorous showing of entertainment but the funniest scene was Elizabeth killing Darcy’s zombie flies at the bedside of her sister, Mary.

One of the things I do not understand is why they made such drastic changes to the story. It would have been better suited to keep the main romantic story and mix in the zombies for fun and thrills.

I give the movie a single star for the attempt, but alas a failing in the end.

Look out for my review of the Supernatural Horror Novel Moving In by Ron Ripley

To escape the stress of living in the city and the anxiety of his high pressure job, Brian Roy moves his family to the country. His wife loves the easy living, but Brian hates it…especially when weird things start happening in the house. When he discovers a dead body in the woods and a burial ground in his basement, Brian could never imagine the shocking history of the house or its former occupants that comes to light. 

As his life starts to unravel, Brian isn’t so sure living in the country is going to be the oasis of peace he and his wife expected. Lately, his home has become a haunting den of hell.